


The Manhunt

by Mystradigans



Series: Fics Based On Poems I Have To Study For GCSE English Lit [1]
Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Inspired by Poetry, M/M, Mentions of past abuse, not sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-07
Updated: 2015-01-07
Packaged: 2018-03-06 14:45:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 340
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3138152
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mystradigans/pseuds/Mystradigans
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When they start dating, Mycroft doesn't like to be touched because of an abusive relationship in his past. Greg is considerate.</p><p>Based on Simon Armitage's 'The Manhunt'.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Manhunt

**Author's Note:**

> By Emily. So, there's a load of poems I'm supposed to study for my exam and you have to be able to explore different ways they could be interpreted. Enter fanfiction. This one is about the Manhunt by Simon Armitage, and the bits in 'quotation marks' are quotes from the poem itself. I've not used the whole poem, just my favourite lines.

'After the first phase,  
after passionate nights and intimate days'

Greg and Mycroft lay snuggling on the sofa, sharing a bowl of popcorn as the fifth Harry Potter movie played in the background. Greg reached out and tentatively touched his boyfriend's cheek, eyes widening in surprise when Mycroft didn't flinch away from him.

'only then would he let me trace  
the frozen river which ran through his face'

Stroking Mycroft's cheek softly, Greg could almost feel the tears that had dried there again and again. He dotted his face in little kisses, aware that this was probably the closest anyone had been to Myc in almost ten years.

'and handle and hold  
the damaged, porcelain collar-bone'

"Damaged" was how Mycroft had described himself on their first date, after he'd spooked when Greg brushed his hand and shoved him away. Greg knew that Mycroft could never be damaged; he was beautiful.

'Only then could I bind the struts  
and climb the rungs of his broken ribs,  
and feel the hurt  
of his grazed heart'

He'd felt sick when Mycroft told him about his late husband- how he'd been an angry drunk who'd hurt and abused Mycroft and taught him that caring was never an advantage. The bruises remained, decorating his chest and arms and legs but they were only outward symptoms of the torture of Mycroft's memories.

'Then I widened the search,  
traced the scarring back to its source'

Greg had learned a lot about Mycroft's past in the short amount of time they'd been together, but he wasn't sure he'd ever fully understand what his partner had been through.

'to a sweating, unexploded mine  
buried deep in his mind,  
around which every nerve in his body had tightened and closed'

Mycroft trusted Greg, and Greg alone, not to hurt him, which made the older man feel incredibly privileged, as Mycroft had shut himself off from everybody else. He made a vow never to betray that trust for as long as he lived.

 

'Then, and only then, did I come close.'

**Author's Note:**

> The original poem is about a man who comes back from war with PTSD and how his wife copes with slowly getting him to feel comfortable with her again. It's a really cool poem, go read it.


End file.
